The use of non-stick surfaces in cookware is well known. Perhaps the oldest type of non-stick cookware is that which is oil-seasoned steel or cast iron cookware. This type of cookware suffers from a number of significant disadvantages. Most importantly, seasoned steel or cast iron cookware is prone to rusting and must not be washed in soapy water so as to prevent the loss of the seasoned surface. Another problem of such cookware is that because iron is a reactive metal, acidic foods should not be cooked in such vessels for long periods of time. Foods high in acid can cause iron to leach from the cookware's surface and consequently affect the taste of food prepared therein and cause health concerns due to ingestion of the leached iron. The surface of such cookware tends to be relatively non-porous. And the hardness of many metal cooking surfaces is relatively poor such that the cookware is susceptible to scratching and subsequent loss of surface seasoning which results in rusting when the cookware is washed in soapy water. Furthermore, such cookware is higher maintenance; because of the cookware's susceptibility to rusting, it is generally unacceptable to wash the cookware in a dishwasher.
The factors that are desirable in high-quality cookware are greatly impacted by the type of metal the cookware is made of and how the cookware has been surface treated to prepare it as a culinary article. In the culinary world, there is an on-going search for improved cookware that does not suffer from the disadvantages described herein. There remains a constant demand for new and improved culinary articles that have increased corrosion-resistance and stick-resistance in particular. There is also a constant demand for culinary articles that have not been treated with coatings which may be hazardous to one's health. Chefs are on a constant quest for culinary articles that will last longer and that will be easier to care for. Given the above considerations, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method of providing an improved seasoned surface on ferrous cookware that has significantly improved corrosion, abrasion and stick resistances